[SOLVED] Jennifer Johnson was working as a ﬁnance

Jennifer Johnson was working as a ﬁnance analyst for Oxy USA, Inc., when Oxy changed the job’s requirements. To meet the new standards, Johnson took courses to become a certiﬁed public accountant. Oxy’s “Educational Assistance Policy” was to reimburse employees for the cost of such courses. Johnson further agreed that Oxy could withhold the reimbursed amount from her ﬁnal paycheck if she quit Oxy within a year. When she resigned less than a year later, Oxy withheld that amount from her last check. Johnson ﬁled a claim for the amount with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). The TWC ruled that she was not entitled to the unpaid wages. She ﬁled a suit in a Texas state court against Oxy, alleging breach of contract. The court afﬁrmed the TWC’s ruling. Johnson appealed.
The trial court held that Johnson’s [claim for breach of contract was] barred by res judicata “a matter judged”. In a court of law, a claimant typically cannot pursue one remedy to an unfavorable outcome and then seek the same remedy in another proceeding before the same or a different tribunal. Res judicata bars the reiteration of claims that have been finally adjudicated or that could have been litigated Res judicata bars the reiteration of claims that have been finally adjudicated or that could have been litigated Res judicata in the prior action. [Emphasis added.]
Johnson argues that res judicata does not apply here because the TWC did not render a final judges judicata does not apply here because the TWC did not render a final judges on the merits of her claim that Oxy misinterpreted its Educational Assistance Policy. Specifically, Johnson claims she was “denied the right of full adjudication of her claim because the TWC refused to consider her arguments at the administrative level as beyond its jurisdiction.” To support this contention, Johnson points to the following excerpt from the decision:
The TWC does not interpret contracts between employers and employee but only enforces the Texas Payday Law the Texas state law that governs the timing of employees’ paychecks. The question of whether the employer properly interpreted their policy on reimbursed educational expenses versus a business expense is a question for a different forum.
According to Johnson, this language shows that the TWC refused to consider the merits of the issue she raised as “beyond its reach.” In contrast, the defendants contend that Johnson’s claims are barred by res judicata because they are based on claims previously decided by the TWC. res judicata because they are based on claims previously decided by the TWC.
In Johnson’s case, however, the TWC did not decide the key question of fact in dispute—whether Oxy violated its own Educational Assistance Policy when it withheld Johnson’s final wages as reimbursement for the CPA courses. In fact, the TWC explicitly refused to do so, stating that the agency “does not interpret contracts between employers and employee.” Because this question goes to the heart of Johnson’s breach of contract claim, we hold that res judicata does not bar that claim. Emphasis added.
The defendants argue that because Johnson seeks to recover the same wages in this suit as she did in her claim with the TWC, res judicata must bar her common law cause of action. However, res judicata must bar her common law cause of action. However judicata would only bar a claim if TWC’s order is considered final. Here, the order in Johnson’s case judicata would only bar a claim if TWC’s order is considered final. Here, the order in Johnson’s case judicata made no such findings with regard to the Educational Assistance Policy. The order expressly declined to address that issue. Therefore will not bar Johnson’s breach of contract claim…………………………………………..

Required:
Who can decide questions of fact? Who can rule on questions of Law? Why?
In some cases, a court may be asked to determine and interpret the law of a foreign country. Some stats consider the issue of what the law of a foreign country requires to be a question of fact. Federal rules of procedure provide that this issue is a question of law. Which position seems more appropriate? Why?

Question: Jennifer Johnson was working as a ﬁnance